Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $47.23 Million Position in Papa John's International, Inc. $PZZA

Key Points

• Victory Capital trimmed its stake in Papa John's by 4.6% to 980,833 shares — about $47.23 million or roughly 2.99% of the company after selling 47,565 shares in Q3.
• Analysts have cut price targets recently (e.g., Stephens to $40, Mizuho to $34, Benchmark to $50), leaving a consensus rating of Hold and an average target of $45.
• Papa John's reported Q4 EPS of $0.34 (beat by $0.01) while revenue missed and fell 6.1% YoY, and it pays a quarterly dividend of $0.46 (annualized yield ~6.0%) with a payout ratio around 206.7%.

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA - Free Report) by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 980,833 shares of the company's stock after selling 47,565 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 2.99% of Papa John's International worth $47,227,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PZZA. Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its position in shares of Papa John's International by 271.6% during the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 690,299 shares of the company's stock worth $33,783,000 after acquiring an additional 504,514 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new position in Papa John's International in the third quarter valued at about $13,036,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its position in Papa John's International by 27.3% in the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 1,174,369 shares of the company's stock worth $56,546,000 after purchasing an additional 251,560 shares during the period. Arvin Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Papa John's International in the second quarter worth about $9,979,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Papa John's International by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,700,062 shares of the company's stock worth $83,201,000 after purchasing an additional 161,906 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Papa John's International from $49.00 to $40.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Benchmark dropped their price target on shares of Papa John's International from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Papa John's International from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Papa John's International from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Papa John's International in a report on Monday, December 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Papa John's International currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $45.00.

Papa John's International Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of PZZA opened at $30.70 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.23. Papa John's International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.16 and a 1 year high of $55.74. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $35.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.84.

Papa John's International (NASDAQ:PZZA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $498.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $517.25 million. Papa John's International had a negative return on equity of 11.16% and a net margin of 1.44%.Papa John's International's revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Papa John's International, Inc. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Papa John's International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. Papa John's International's dividend payout ratio is presently 206.74%.

About Papa John's International

Papa John's International, Inc is a leading American pizza restaurant chain known for its focus on high-quality ingredients and consistent product offerings. Founded in 1984 by John Schnatter in Jeffersonville, Indiana, the company has grown to operate thousands of restaurants across the United States and in more than 40 international markets. Papa John's restaurants are primarily franchised, supported by a network of corporate-owned outlets that together drive brand standards, operational guidance and marketing efforts.

The core menu at Papa John's centers on a variety of hand-tossed and pan pizzas made with a signature stone-baked crust and topped with real cheese, vine-ripened tomato sauce and premium meats and vegetables.

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